Tax revenues jump to P3.4 T

The country’s tax revenues rose by five percent to hit P3.38 trillion as the government ramped up its tax administration and digitalization program.

Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Romeo Lumagui said during the 2024 National Tax Campaign Kickoff that the 2023 collection reached P2.5 trillion, eight percent higher than the previous year’s P2.33 trillion.

Despite the increase, the latest figure still fell short of the P2.64 trillion target set by the government for 2023.

This brought total tax revenues to P3.38 trillion, including the P884 billion raked in by the Bureau of Customs.

The latest figure, however, does not include the non-tax revenues, which include income from the Bureau of the Treasury, privatization, and other fees and charges.

As to the missed target of the BIR, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said one of the reasons was the timing of value-added tax filing.

“I think the bigger challenge will be for 2024, because the revenue targets are high as well,” he said.

For 2024, the BIR is tasked to collect P3.05 trillion.

Lumagui, for his part, said the BIR has intensified its enforcement activities last year through various programs, such as the nationwide raid against illicit tobacco, edible goods as well as its move to run after tax evaders and fake transactions.

“Taxes are the lifeblood of the government, we will not run if we don’t have enough funds,” Lumagui said.

“If we collect more, we will have more funds that we can use for infrastructure projects and social welfare and development,” he said.

The BIR chief said collecting more revenues would also help the government cut down on its borrowings, with the majority of expenditures to be funded domestically.